Houlton man gets 4 years in Presque Isle meth lab case

CARIBOU, Maine — A Houlton man arrested last year after the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency uncovered a meth lab in Presque Isle is serving more than four years in jail for his involvement in the crime.

Ray W. Varney, 23, appeared for sentencing in July in Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou on a charge of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison with all but four years suspended, plus a $400 fine. He also will spend three years on probation and pay $1,500 in restitution. He was sentenced to an additional 90 days in jail on a separate charge of violating condition of release.

Authorities discovered the meth lab in a Main Street apartment in Presque Isle and an MDEA team executed a search warrant on Dec. 29, 2011, and seized chemicals and equipment that had been used to make the drug. During a subsequent investigation, police also arrested 29-year-old Leland Alger of Presque Isle and issued an arrest warrant for 22-year-old Ronald Lewis of Littleton on charges of trafficking methamphetamine.

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Lewis fled the state and was arrested in July in Topeka, Kan. Officers with the U.S. Marshals Service took him into custody.

Information on disposition of the cases against Alger and Lewis were not immediately available Tuesday.

All of the crimes against the trio are Class B felonies, for which the maximum punishment is 10 years in prison.